BCom Honours Degree Unlocks Cum Laude Graduates’ Potential

BY: .

The College of Law and Management Studies raised a resounding cheer for its top achievers who graduated with Bachelor of Commerce Honours degrees cum laude.

The top achievers were Mr Vaughn Arumugam, Mr Atlaaf Cassim, Ms Kayleen Govender, Ms Sarika Govender, Mr Aaqil Ismail, Ms Sameerah Kajee, Ms Kouvania Padayachee, Ms Anashya Sing and Mr Frank Van Vuuren.

They were all very proud of their achievement and looking forward to using their qualification as a foundation for a successful career.

This qualification has already opened doors for Arumugam who has been working at Accenture's Technology division in Johannesburg for the past three months.

‘My experience studying Information Systems and Technology has been amazing. The Honours programme at UKZN is in my opinion the strongest in the country. The countless number of presentations we do help you gain confidence for actual presentations in the working world, and the group work really helps you to work effectively in a team.'

‘The qualification itself is worthwhile having as it exposes you to business and technology and teaches you how these two worlds can align to create value,’ said Arumugam.

Arumugam is looking forward to publishing his research on Measuring the Susceptibility of South African SMEs to the Multi-Stage Socio-Technical (MSST) Social Engineering attack, and completing his MBA.

For Sing, who is a Business Analyst at First National Bank, the academic journey has been paved with a number of academic achievements. These include being given an award from the Golden Key International Honour Society for being in the top 15% list of academic achievers at UKZN during her second year and being awarded a Special Honours Bursary of R25 000 from the College of Law and Management Studies for being a top academic achiever in 2013.

Getting to study with her best friend, Kayleen Govender and landing her dream job is just the icing on the cake.

‘Kayleen and I were very enthusiastic about our BCom honours year and thought it would be ‘a piece of cake’. However, when we reached the first quarter of the year, we realised that this year would be quite challenging. We studied hard and even worked together on our research (even though our topics were miles apart) throughout the year. Our social lives took a back seat but we knew that it would be worthwhile in the end as an honours degree in Information Technology  is the best combination to have as IT is constantly evolving and revolutionising the business space,’ said Sing.

To Sarika Govender graduating cum laude was the reward for her hard work and determination. ‘I had an enjoyable experience studying for my BCom (Hon) degree in Human Resources Management. It took a lot of hard work and dedication, which finally paid off, with the completion of this degree. It is a worthwhile degree to have in any workplace as human resources is an essential component of any organisation,’ she said.

For Ismail, his degree in Information Systems helped him get a job at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Johannesburg - a sign that only the sky is the limit.

‘Obtaining a BCom honours degree in addition to my BSc in Computer Science broadened my knowledge, as well as helping me to further develop my skills. The many people I befriended as well as my lecturers, especially during my honours year, contributed in making my time at university a success. I personally feel that this qualification provides greater opportunities in finding something we can enjoy doing as a job,’ said Ismail.

 Thandiwe Jumo